Title: After the Villainess Awakens
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 6 - Why? It was so unfair! (1)
Leng Mushi knew that people in this inn weren't alive. They were just puppets controlled by a painted skin demoness. She could tell something was off just by the immaculate dishes and wine jars on the tables. If these were real people, how could the food and wine on the tables be barely touched?
There was a powerful painted skin demoness in this inn. Painted skin demons maintained their appearances by devouring people and drawing their silhouettes with blood. Powerful demons were good at concealing their demonic energy. At their current cultivation levels, it was impossible for Xiao Mian and his two shixiong to discover the painted skin demoness.
In this storyline, Xiao Mian and his two shixiong tried their best to escape. At the cost of his two shixiong sacrificing their lives, the rest of the group almost escape. But then, unexpectedly, the villainess shoved her sister out of the protective barrier. The villainess was doomed to reap the consequences of her actions. When the protective barrier shattered, she also fell back into the painted skin demoness's trap.
This was followed by the classic game of who will the hero choose to save.
The painted skin demoness told Xiao Mian he had to choose one person to save. Xiao Mian was an upstanding gentleman, so he naturally refused. During this time, the villainess tried to harm the heroine again. And once again, the villainess suffered the consequences of her actions, and her appearance was completely ruined.
At the thought of being disfigured, Leng Mushi felt a bit afraid. Even if there would be a chance to recover her appearance later, she was just a teenage girl and this was her first time facing a monster.
It was because of this storyline that the hero despised the villainess even more, the heroine would see her "true face" and decide to sever ties with her, and the first budding of romance would occur between the hero and heroine because of this almost fatal adventure.
This storyline was very important.
She couldn't change this. Just like how she knew her family would be destroyed, but she couldn't do anything about it. The novel's law would punish her if she revealed any part of the plot. She couldn't bear that pain…
"Let's not stay here. Let's… go find another place to stay?" Leng Mushi suddenly grabbed Xiao Mian to stop him from accepting the room key.
She closed her eyes tightly, gritted her teeth, and endured the punishment from the novel's law. Her body felt as if it was going to be burnt into ashes. She clutched Xiao Mian's wrist and said, "There's…" a demon.
Before she could say the last word, her body went limp, and she fainted.
Leng Mushi felt as if her soul had been incinerated by karmic fire. This was too painful. She would never dare to reveal the plot again!
She abruptly woke up and sat up on the bed, covered in sweat.
Leng Tianyin was sitting on the edge of the bed and wiping her face with a handkerchief. Leng Mushi gasped for breath as she looked at the unfamiliar top of the bed. She knew that they had checked into the inn and entered the mouth of the painted skin demoness while she was unconscious.
"Sister, you're awake. Immortal Yi has checked your pulse. He said you fainted from being too frightened. Your fever has subsided." Leng Tianyin placed the handkerchief on the shelf beside the table and got up to pour water for Leng Mushi.
Leng Mushi glanced at Leng Tianyin, used her arms to get up from bed, and accepted the cup from Leng Tianyin.
After drinking three cups of water, she let out a long breath and asked Leng Tianyin, "What time is it?"
"Past 3 AM."
As soon as Leng Mushi heard that answer, her heart leapt up.
In the next moment, the door was smashed open, and the three immortals were retreating into the room while fighting with their swords.
Leng Tianyin screamed and dropped the tea cup. The tea cup fell to the ground and shattered.
"The two Miss Lengs, quickly come over here, enter the formation!"
One of Xiao Mian's shixiong used his sword to draw the runes for a protective barrier on the floor. He gestured for Leng Tianyin, who covered her mouth in fear, and the dazed Leng Mushi, who was sitting on the bed, to enter the barrier.
Leng Tianyin was standing closer and was the first to be pulled into the barrier. Leng Mushi should have rushed into the barrier and fallen over in her hurry. However, when she looked at the three immortals, who were fighting puppets with crooked mouths and slanted eyes, and the room that had already begun to twist, she suddenly felt this was so pointless.
The situation reminded her of her life. These people were desperately struggling to fight off the puppets, but they had already entered the painted skin demoness's mouth. Wasn't their efforts futile?
"Miss Leng!" That shixiong shouted again and looked very anxious.
Leng Mushi didn't know that shixiong's name. She deliberately didn't want to remember or ask for it. He was just a supporting character like herself and was doomed to die today.
However, in that moment, when her desire to survive wavered, Leng Mushi felt heat from her waist. The threat of being burned by that karmic fire was enough to make her roll out of bed and rush into the protective barrier.
F*ck, it was better to be disfigured than die in pain!
Outside the barrier, the three immortals wielded their swords. There were silvery lights from the flashes of their sword movements. Those puppets wouldn't die even if they were cut through. Even after their heads were cut off, they would stagger up and rush forward to attack with eerie smiles. Still, this was effective in weakening the puppets' fighting abilities.
It looked like the three immortals would be able to defeat the puppets eventually, but Leng Mushi knew this wasn't true. These were just puppets. They had already entered the painted skin demoness's mouth, and the room was warping. Once these puppets were killed, they would be swallowed by the powerful demoness and fall into her belly.
A puppet, who had been slashed through, dragged its twisted body that was only half a finger-thick. It crawled towards the protective barrier and left behind a bloody trail.
This was Leng Tianyin's first time seeing such a ghastly scene. Her limbs were stiff with fear, and she was huddling in the corner of the protective barrier.
Leng Mushi was also numb with horror, but a warning heat came from the storage bag. It was time for her to follow the plot by pushing Leng Tianyin out!
Leng Mushi watched as the puppet with its crooked mouth and bared teeth climbed on top of the protective barrier. By now, it was very flat with only two layers of skin to hold it together. Its organs and bones were gone. Blood continued to flow from its severed waist, staining the protective barrier a bloody red.
At this time, another batch of puppets came through the door. The three immortals were too busy fending off the new enemies to pay attention to the protective barrier. More puppets came towards them. It was like watching evil spirits crawl out of hell and coming towards them.
Leng Tianyin was trembling in fear, only her upbringing had her press her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
Leng Mushi didn't have the time to be scared. She saw that the barrier seemed to be corroded by the dripping blood. She had to push Leng Tianyin out soon.
Leng Mushi gritted her teeth, turned around, and grabbed Leng Tianyin's shoulder. It was only then that she noticed her sister's body was icy cold. She must be frightened to death.
Leng Tianyin originally didn't dare to move and had her eyes closed, but when Leng Mushi touched her, she immediately hugged Leng Mushi.
This was the first time Leng Tianyin had hugged her. Leng Mushi felt revolted.
"What's the point of acting out sisterly affections at a time like this?!" Leng Mushi pushed Leng Tianyin aside, but she didn't push her out of the protective barrier. Instead, she pushed her back and left the protective barrier that was no longer big enough to accommodate two people.
Translator Ramblings: Leng Mushi must have resisted the novel's law previously to know that excruciating pain will happen when she goes against it. And yet, she still goes against the plot even after listing out the reasons why it would be illogical to do so. I think that's a good way of showing Leng Mushi's stubbornness against fate/novel's law in a positive light. That's she smart enough to be aware of the consequences of her actions and paying that cost is worth it to her.